Dez Bryant, freshly stripped of the Cowboys' iconic star Friday morning by team owner Jerry Jones, departed the team's Frisco headquarters in his Bentley, waving the "hang loose" motion as he put the only team he's known during his eight-year NFL career in the rear-view mirror.

In a string of tweets soon after, Bryant said he took the team's decision to release him personally.

"Cowboy nation I need you to know this wasn't my decision," he wrote. "I will always love y'all... forever Dallas in my heart."

If I didn’t have my edge I got it now... I’m sorry they got to feel me it’s personal... it’s very personal

The Cowboys' split with the fiery receiver, met with mixed reaction by fans, had been building for months. A disappointing 2017 season showed a continued lack of chemistry between Bryant and quarterback Dak Prescott, declining production and a spiraling relationship with the front office and some members of head coach Jason Garrett's staff.

Bryant alluded to "Garrett guys" among his teammates contributing to the team's decision in an interview that aired Friday evening on the NFL Network.

Executive vice president Stephen Jones made it known the Cowboys would address Bryant's $12.5 million salary and $16.5 million salary cap hit for the next two seasons, whether by pay cut or otherwise. But the Cowboys were ultimately ready to move on.

Dez Bryant will not be designated a June 1 cut, source said. Move clears a little more than $8 million on the cap immediately with no dead money to deal with going forward.

The move saves the Cowboys $8.5 million against the salary cap and again underlines how quickly things change in the National Football League. Bryant, who wore No. 88 like Cowboys' receiving legends Drew Pearson and Michael Irvin before him, had professed his desire to remain a Cowboy. He did lead the team in receiving last season and is the franchise leader in receiving touchdowns and ranks in the top five all-time in receptions and receiving yards.

Jerry Jones issued a statement shortly after he met with Bryant at The Star, in part:

"As an organization we hold Dez Bryant in the highest regard, and we are grateful for his passion, spirit and contributions to this team. ...

"Dez and I share a personal and professional relationship that is very strong. ...This was not an easy decision. It was made based upon doing what we believe is in the best interest of the Dallas Cowboys.

"We arrived at this crossroad collectively with input from several voices within the organization."

National reaction to Dez Bryant's release from Cowboys: Players weigh in; 'Aaron Rodgers would have a field day with Dez'

Bryant and former quarterback Tony Romo were only recently the first players who sprang to mind at the mention of the Cowboys, and both were released, just over a year apart.

The mantle of the team's future is ever more placed on running back Ezekiel Elliott and Prescott, who will enter their third seasons in 2018. Whether the team uses the savings from Bryant's contract to immediately enhance the team or on long-term deals to lock up current players remains to be seen.

Several of Bryant's former teammates reacted to his release on Twitter.

"Truly a blessing to have been able to play with you," Pro Bowl defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence posted. "No one will understand the love and passion you have for the game. Wish you nothing but the best!"

The Cowboys will have to prove they can field an improved receiving corps without Bryant, whom they drafted in the first round in 2010.

The club will likely use an early round pick on a receiver in the coming NFL draft, which will be held April 26-28 at Arlington's AT&T Stadium. The Cowboys hold the No. 19 pick of the first round.

Allen Hurns, whom the Cowboys added recently through free agency at $6 million a season, half of Bryant's salary, is the leading candidate to replace Bryant as the No. 1 receiver.

The play of Bryant, who will turn 30 in November, declined over the last three seasons, since his infamously ruled no-catch near the end of a playoff loss at Green Bay at the end of the 2014 season. #Dez Caught It will live forever in team lore.

He earned a five-year, $70 million extension before the 2015 season, but before the long-term deal was worked out, the Cowboys used the franchise tag on him, which he took as an insult. He then reported to training camp out of shape, which rankled Cowboys brass.

Injuries and other offensive issues contributed to a decrease in production, but the relationship between Bryant and the team also suffered from his visible displays of frustration, outbursts on the sideline and increased drops on the field.

In a December interview late in the 9-7 season, Bryant said that he needed to get out of his own head and voiced frustration with the offensive scheme and having to play through tendinitis. He said he would not take a pay cut if Dallas asked him to. In Friday's NFL Network interview, Bryant said he would've taken less money but he never got the chance.

Life after Dez: What does the Cowboys' receiving corps look like now?

In January, Stephen Jones called Bryant's sideline demeanor distracting, then a rare critical public comment that served as a warning sign of what was to come. The team had almost uniformly referred to Bryant's "passion" in way of explanation over the years.

Dallas waited until virtually the last minute to release Bryant - after the initial wave of big-spending free agency around the league and just before the Cowboys' offseason workouts begin Monday.

Bryant tweeted that he is already looking to the future, and there will be great interest in where he ends up and if he can make the Cowboys regret their decision.

He told the NFL Network he wants to stay in the NFC East: "It's personal," he said. "I'm just tired of being a scapegoat."

For the Cowboys, it marks the end of an era, the days of Bryant "throwing up the X" after touchdowns now firmly a part of team history.

88 by the numbers

In eight seasons and 113 games in Dallas, Dez Bryant had 531 catches for 7,459 yards and 73 touchdowns. He averaged 14.0 yards per catch and 66.0 yards per game. The decline in his production began in 2015, when injuries and other issues began impacting his play after he'd put up three-straight seasons of 1,200 yards or more. Bryant's stats from 2010-14 and 2015-17: